Why Your CAD Model Looks Fine but Is Not Moldable A CAD model can look completely finished. The geometry is clean. The surfaces are continuous. The assembly works. The product looks exactly the way the designer intended. Then the tooling engineer opens the file and starts asking questions: Where is the parting line? How will
Why is dimensional accuracy not enough for medical plastic components? Explore material, surface quality, flash, weld lines, cleanliness, validation and process consistency.
The 10 Engineering Decisions That Can Make or Break an NPD Project A new product development project often looks straightforward on paper: Concept → CAD → Prototype → Tooling → Validation → Mass Production But in real manufacturing, problems rarely follow such a neat sequence. A dimensional problem discovered during T1 may have started with
Learn what Mold Flow Analysis can reveal before tooling: filling pattern, injection pressure, weld lines, air traps, cooling, fiber orientation, shrinkage and warpage.
Learn how to control BLDC motor rotor insert molding with proper venting, gate design, injection pressure, material drying, insert positioning, and a practical zero-bubble SOP.
Learn how core and cavity placement affects part retention, shrinkage, mold opening, and ejection. Practical guidelines for designing injection molded parts for reliable tooling.
A living hinge may be one of the simplest-looking features in plastic part design. It contains: Just a thin section of plastic connecting two rigid bodies. Yet despite its simplicity, the living hinge is one of the most frequently misdesigned features in injection molding. Many hinge failures occur long before the product reaches the customer.
One of the most common challenges in plastic product design is creating a reliable press fit. Consider a typical assembly: At first glance, the solution appears straightforward: Design the mating dimensions with a tight tolerance and create an interference fit. In practice, however, injection molding does not always favor this approach. Shrinkage variation, molding tolerances,
One of the most common comments during a DFM review is: “Can we add a radius here?” To many product designers, corner radii appear to be minor details. After all, a sharp corner seems simpler to design and often looks cleaner in CAD. However, sharp corners rarely benefit injection molded parts. In fact, they frequently
Every product team expects design changes during development. That is the purpose of prototyping. Engineers evaluate: And then make improvements. The problem is that not all design changes are equal. Some modifications can be completed by machining existing mold steel. Others require replacing inserts, rebuilding mold components, or manufacturing an entirely new tool. From a
